Candace Kathleen Bright, a 68-year-old woman from Midland, Texas, has admitted to lying to law enforcement about the whereabouts of her son and grandson in a parental interference investigation in Sanders County, Montana.
According to the U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich, Bright pleaded guilty to false statements during a video court appearance from Midland, Texas. The maximum penalty for this crime is five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
The court set a sentencing date for May 31, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen. Bright was released pending further proceedings.
The government alleged that Bright’s son and co-defendant, Jacob Israel Strong, failed to return his son to his ex-wife on Aug. 19, 2021. Sanders County Sheriff’s deputies were unable to locate Strong or his son, leading to an investigation by the FBI.
The FBI interviewed Bright on several occasions, including on Oct. 4, 2021, in which she told the agent that lying to a federal officer is a crime. However, Bright repeatedly lied to the agent, telling him she did not know where Strong and her grandson were and had not seen them since approximately Aug. 17, 2021.
In January 2022, the FBI learned that Strong and his son had left the United States near Midland, Texas, in approximately October 2021 and drove through Mexico to Costa Rica. Bright was aware of Strong’s whereabouts during all of her conversations with the FBI and was physically present when Strong and her grandson left Texas for Costa Rica.
Bright’s lies to the FBI contributed to the time and expense of the search for Strong and his son. Had Bright been honest with the FBI, Strong and his son likely would have been found in the fall of 2021. Instead, based largely on Bright’s false statements, Strong was not arrested until May 22, 2022, nine months after he absconded with his son.
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Key Facts
- State: Montana
- Category: Violent Crime|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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